A Medical Device Daily

Advanced Liquid Logic (Research Triangle Park, North Carolina), a microfluidics "lab-on-a-chip" spinout from the Pratt School of engineering at Duke University (Durham, North Carolina), reported that it has acquired Nanolytics (Raleigh, North Carolina). Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Nanolytics, founded in the late 1990's, has received several million dollars in commercial and government support prior to the transaction. Michael Pollack, an early Nanolytics employee, left Nanolytics to further develop the technology at Duke University and then went on to co-found Advanced Liquid Logic in 2004.

"This clearly gives us the high ground in the race for both demonstrated progress and intellectual property in this exciting new technology. The technology has huge potential for miniaturizing test equipment and performing complex tests at the point of sample collection," said Richard West, CEO of Advanced Liquid. "Not only will we benefit from Nanolytics' patents but from the continuing contributions of key Nanolytics employees as well."

Advanced Liquid Logic is developing a new technology for micro-liquid-handling, called digital microfluidics. Small droplets can be moved under direct, programmable, software control to perform complex, liquid-based testing in a palmtop-sized device. The company's primary focus is developing products for medical diagnostics and monitoring.

Tm Bioscience (Toronto), a developer of genetic tets, reported that it has received a final order from the Ontario Superior Court of Justice approving the acquisition of the company by Luminex (Austin, Texas).

As reported earlier this week (Medical Device Daily, Feb. 26, 2007), the shareholders and optionholders of Tm Bioscience approved the transaction at a special meeting.

Each Tm Bioscience share will be exchanged for 0.06 shares of Luminex common stock. The per-share consideration represents a 41.5% premium for Tm shares, based on the closing price of a share of Tm common stock and Luminex common stock on Dec. 14, the last trading day prior to the announcement of the acquisition.

The transaction was expected to close today.

In other dealmaking news:

• Respironics (Murraysville, Pennsylvania) reported the acquisition from IM Systems (Baltimore) of the PAM-RL device, an activity monitor device used to record and analyze periodic limb movements (PLMs). Terms of the purchase were not disclosed.

PLMs can disrupt sleep, or delay sleep onset, and are often associated with Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) and other neurological disorders.

The PAM-RL device provides researchers and clinicians with a method for assessing limb movements that can be used to study the efficacy of drug formulations and medical devices designed to treat RLS.

While typically worn at night during sleep, the PAM-RL can record leg movements for more than five consecutive days. After the data are recovered from the device, they are analyzed to determine the frequency of PLM events. RLS affects up to 10% of the U.S. adult population.

The PAM-RL actigraphy device will be distributed from the Respironics' Bend, Oregon facility.

Respironics develops products and programs that serve the global sleep and respiratory markets.

• Conceptus (Mountain View, California), developer of the Essure non-incisional permanent birth control system, said it will exercise its option to acquire its primary international partner, Conceptus SAS (Versailles, France) sometime between Jan. 1, 2008, and Jan. 2, 2009.

In connection with exercise of the call option, the parties agreed that Conceptus will increase the price at which it sells the Essure product to Conceptus SAS and that Conceptus will not exercise the call option in 2007.

"This amendment to our contracts with Conceptus SAS is in the best interests of all parties concerned," said Mark Sieczkarek, president/CEO of Conceptus. "Conceptus and our shareholders benefit because of the increased selling price of the product. Conceptus SAS and it's shareholders benefit from the peace of mind of knowing that we will exercise our call option sometime during 2008 subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions."

• Tissue Regeneration Technologies (TRT; Woodstock, Georgia) and Nonvasiv (Konstanz, Germany) said they have agreed to merge.

Upon completion of the merger, TRT will offer a line of shockwave products to the veterinary field, including a device that offers the full spectrum of lens assemblies to treat all equine and small animal indications.

TRT has also entered into negotiations, with a third party independent of Nonvasiv, to acquire the rights to a replacement disposable for the existing veterinary market, which have generated revenues in excess of $3 million annually.

TRT's medical devices utilize MultiWave technology (a combination of heat, electromagnetic, acoustic, and light energies) to provide non-invasive and minimally invasive treatment for numerous pathological conditions.

• ATC Healthcare (Lake Success, New York), a medical staffing company, reported that it is launching a new license program to provide business staffing services.

The Business Staffing Division will provide temporary staffing and permanent placement in the areas of accounting, IT, human resources, legal, and general/clerical/administrative positions. ATC signed its first license agreement with Janet and Phillip Parkey on Feb. 26, to develop the Tennessee marketplace.

The first business staffing office is scheduled to open in Knoxville in March and will operate under the name Business Office Staffing Services. Additional offices will open in Nashville, Memphis, Chattanooga, and the Tri Cities area.